A Supporting Organization of The Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore

2001

Always keeping in mind Lyn’s love of children and her desire to be a part of “Tikun Olam” – repair of the world – gifts this year have been made to a wide variety of charities both here in the states and abroad.

The year 2001 is rapidly coming to a close. Lyn’s fund, despite a rocky year in the stock market, but with your generous help, has continued to grow and has been able to make a series of gifts to worthy organizations this year. Always keeping in mind Lyn’s love of children and her desire to be a part of “Tikun Olam” – repair of the world – gifts this year have been made to a wide variety of charities both here in the states and abroad.

1. A gift was made to the Maryland Community Kitchen

The Maryland Community Kitchen located in Baltimore, Maryland provides food and nourishment to HIV and Aids infected people. Although we have not been reading a great deal about AIDS and HIV lately, it remains a huge health problem and despite the medical advances made in this field, there are many people suffering from this dread disease that still need our help. We learned from a condolence letter that was sent to us by this organization, that whenever L yn was in Baltimore, she spent some of her time doing volunteer work at this community kitchen.

2. A gift was been made to The Silver Lining Foundation

Founded by Andrea Jaegar, the former professional tennis player, and located in Aspen Colorado, The Silver Lining Foundation is a safe, secure, residential community for children suffering from cancer. There, the children can play and be with children like themselves – having no hair and having no strength is normal. Andrea helps each child to learn that one must make the best of a situation. Her work with these children is inspirational.

3. A gift was made to the Burn Unit of Cornell Presbyterian Hospital

The events of September 11th has left all of us feeling a bit hopeless. Lyn was dedicated to New York City and to helping people in trouble. She also had a special interest in helping burn victims. Knowing that many of the survivors of 9/11 would be just that – burn victims – we found out that all of the burn victims from the twin towers attack had been taken to the burn unit of Cornell Presbyterian Hospital.

4. A gift was made to Anna’s House

Anna’s House, located in Bel Air, Maryland and opened in 1991, is a constituent agency of Catholic Charities. Because of the wonderful work that they do to provide a warm and loving transitional home for homeless women and their children, we felt that Anna’s House deserved help for the second year in a row.

5. A gift was made to Harford Day School

Once again, a gift was made to Lyn’s school, Harford Day School, for the annual production of a musical play. The play this year was the Wizard of Oz and we understand that stars were born. It is our intention to provide funding each and every year for a musical production at Harford Day so that children in Harford County will be exposed to the delight and joy that theater can bring.

6. A gift was made to Hospice Savannah

Hospice Savannah, dedicated to making the last days of very sick people easier, has a program for children’s grief services. This very special program, geared especially for children who have experienced the loss of a parent or sibling, helps children cope with their loss. We have directed that the gift from Lyn’s fund be used for this purpose.

7. A gift was made to Selah – Israel Crisis Management Services

Many of the people either killed or severely hurt during this past year in Israel, have been new immigrants from the former Soviet Union. They and their families are without a support system, many of them having absolutely no relatives in Israel. Selah, a volunteer group dedicated to helping these new immigrants get through each and every crisis that effects them, has stepped in to fill the gap. At the first sign of trouble, they are there to help theimmigrants. In this year of horrible events both here in the states and in Israel, a helping hand is invaluable. We recognize this and decided to help.

8. A gift was made to the Empty Stocking Fund in Harford County Maryland

The Empty Stocking Fund is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 to help needy residents of Harford county during the holidays. This fund helps with food, clothing, housing expenses, utilities and toys. We especially like the fact that all of the moneys collected go directly to the recipients. No moneys collected are used for administrative costs and the efforts are totally volunteer.

9. A gift was made to the Open Arms Home

Open Arms, a constituent agency of the Lutheran Ministries, located in Savannah, Georgia, is one of the three charities that are repeated from last year. We thought that the work that they do for medically fragile infants was worthy of continued support. Open Arms is a home for infants who are ill and have been abandoned by their families. Some of the babies have AIDS, some are crack babies and some have other life threatening illnesses; all of them need love, hugging and holding. The staff and volunteers at Open Arms are dedicated to the comfort and care of these babies.

10. A gift was made to Family Services of Savannah Jewish Federation

It came to our attention that there were two young girls, ages 7 and 9, living in a foster home in Savannah, Georgia that would not be able to have any Chanukah presents this year because their parents were not able to care for them. It seemed to us that these girls, no matter how well taken care of in the foster home, deserved to celebrate the holiday in a joyous manner. Thus, we gave a donation to SJF Family Services and asked that the money be spent exclusively and entirely for the benefit of these young girls.

11. A gift was made to Ahavas Yisrael Charity Fund

Ahavas Yisrael, located in Baltimore, Maryland, is a remarkable charity. The organization, entirely volunteer run, is dedicated to helping people who, for one reason or another, cannot make ends meet. They may need help in paying their rent, or paying an electric bill, or buying food for the month. Ahavas Yisrael is there to help – and this is the part that impresses us – the help is given anonymously. When delivering food, for example, the volunteers may have to circle the block many times until they are sure that no one is home and no one will see the delivery being made. All of the checks that they write to help people are without names or addresses identifying who sent the money. We consider the work that Ahavas Yisrael does to be the highest form of charity.

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The Lyn Stacie Getz Endowment Fund is dedicated to helping in the areas of health, wellness, healing and education. We feel that, once again, this year we have achieved that purpose. Lyn loved children and Lyn loved to help those in need. Contributions from Lyn’s Fund are broad based and cover every race and religion, every color and creed – the only criteria is that of need. Your help in making the fund’s principal grow allows us to distribute increased income each year to meaningful and needed causes and for this we sincerely thank you. Oprah Winfrey once said -”when you lose a loved one – you gain an angel – an angel you know by name.”